Man Made DIY

I haven't tried this out for myself, but the video alone is worth a watch. It's a pretty simple deal, actually, but it seems to make sense. Get quality, generic-branded razors in the mail every month with a low subscription fee. At $9 a month for the fanciest blade, it's still cheaper than buying a pack at the store.

This week, Chris and I will be hosting True Value's "Ask the Blog Squad" sessions on Facebook. We'll be taking questions from readers about anything you can think of (well, anything DIY-related you can think of; don't start getting too personal on me, buddy). 

You can find the page on Facebook (make sure to click on the 'Ask the Blog Squad' tab). Head over there now and get your question in before it's too late!

For our latest True Value blog squad project, we decided to tackle our fireplace. In our 1960s-ish family room addition, the fireplace takes up a lot of visual attention, and its size and placement make it clear the previous owners built it as a focal point. Here's what we were dealing with:

(Note: this picture is about four years old)

Last year we decided to paint the fireplace white, but it still lacked some appeal.So, it's not surprising we often chose to 'hide' the fireplace by stacking our daughters various toys in front of it:

The list of things we didn't like about this thing would go on and on. Here are a few photos that are wo… read more

A part of me retches at the very word 'landscaping', as if the 1/4-acre parcel I inhabit on the vast surface of our billions-of-years-old planet somehow requires a few hours per weekend of my inexpert, indifferent care. Come on; any scaping we do to the land will be obliterated by the pitiless passing of time. We might as well lie under our beds 'scaping' dust into piles.

Still, that's a tough argument to make to your neighbors when they walk past your overgrown garden, over the shin-high weeds in the sidewalk cracks, and through the 'native habitat restoration' area you call your front lawn. They don't have to say much, but even at a distance you can see the raising of eyebrows.

Not that I care that much what they think; horticultural conformism be damned. But seriously, this summer the front of our house was getting to a point that would make even the most hardened iconoclast a little embarassed. 

So, with a shrug of my shoulders and a roll of the eyes, we decided to finally do a little landscaping. It's been at least five years since we've done so much as weeding in the front, so things were a little, um, hairy. Read on to see how we improved it, and watch a video of the whole process...

I know it's not cool to say so, but I hate recyling. Or maybe it's more accurate to say I'm incompetent at it. I forget to take it out on time, I get plastics and papers mixed up, and trash things when I should recycle them and vice versa. So it's no surprise that our kitchen recycling area has long been an embarrassment:

That's how our 'recycling center' used to look. Note the problems: 

1. General disaster
2. Sorting?
3. Shallow pantry means the doors won't close when it's in this state
4. How many brown paper bags does a guy need?

Well, after an inspiring trip to my local True Value store, I decided this was a solvable situation. I searched the internet far and wide for some recyling bins I could just buy, but our 10-inch-deep pantry made that very difficult.

When I spotted some sheets of white corrugated plastic at True Value (we're in their 2011 Blog Squad), a lightbulb went off: I could make my own recycling bin… read more

When the people at True Value got in touch with us about joining their DIY Blog Squad for 2011, we were psyched. Last year's group included some heavy hitters like DesignMom, DIYdiva, and The Lettered Cottage, so I knew we'd be in good company.

Chris and I have a list of fun projects lined up for the summer, including, but not limited to, so don't hold us to this list in court, ok?:

- A Nelson-inspired slatted bench

- Raised garden beds

- Etched copper plant labels

- A sloped garden re-lanscaping project

- Some other miscellaneous fixer-upper projects

Of course, if there's a particular project you'd like to suggest, please let us know in the c… read more

Remember the first time you saw The Big Lebowski, and all your friends hated it and thought it was boring, but you couldn't stop laughing? Remember how, two years later, in college, it was suddenly everyone's all-time favorite movie?

Yeah, me too. I also remember thinking, "Where can I get that sweater?" Well, now you can; the original was made by Pendelton Woolen Mills, and this year they're bringing it back:

Could they have chosen a less 'Dude'-like model? I doubt it. … read more

Your kid is sick; your wife has a late meeting; the two-hundred dollars in groceries you bought last weekend was ephemeral. Enter: spaghetti aglio e olio. Spaghetti with garlic and olive oil. Sounds almost pointlessly simple, but if you make it right, it's deceptively good. Fast, easy, and you always have the ingredients on hand. Here's how:

ManMade Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

• 1 lb. dried spaghetti
• Olive Oil (the better, the better)
• Garlic (fresh if you can; I always keep a jar of minced garlic around just in case)
• Chopped Parsley (optional but makes a noticeable difference)

Can't believe I never thought of this myself. I spent years buzzing my own hair (and asking for help on the neckline) before I finally consented to going to a barber like a grown-up. But that's for another post...

Do you cut your own hair? Vote now!